Draft shows that Arizona Diamondbacks have leveled playing field

It's hard to feel giddy about the Major League Baseball draft. We are a nation united in instant gratification. Players selected might not surface in the majors for five years.

Here is all you need to know: What the Diamondbacks did in the first round of the draft Monday was significant. Not only were the choices widely applauded, but it spoke volumes that management gave the OK to pursue a pair of players that will cost in the neighborhood of $11 million to $12 million.

It feels like the organization is back on its feet.

This community will never shed its fondness for Jerry Colangelo. It shouldn't. He helped bring professional baseball to town. He lured popular veteran players to build a following and create quick fan-athlete connections. He paved the way for a World Series.

It wasn't without a price. That path required $250 million in deferred salaries with $30 million of it still due. That process coupled with an economic downturn made for some lean years.

"We plowed through it (the deferred salaries), and we're pretty near the end," Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick said Tuesday. "We're in a more normal environment to make business decisions, and that translates to player decisions."

The fruitfulness of a draft class isn't known for years, but this one seems promising. The Diamondbacks have had mixed results when it comes to first-round picks.

They started slow - try Nick Bierbrodt in 1996 and Corey Myers in 1999 - but improved immensely with three consecutive years of solid top selections: Conor Jackson in 2003, Stephen Drew in 2004 and Justin Upton in 2005.

There are always risks. Look at last season's first round.

The Diamondbacks took highly regarded Barret Loux, a 6-foot-5 pitcher from Texas A&M, with the sixth overall pick. He came to Arizona in July to take a physical and to sign a contract that included a $2 million signing bonus. The team's medical staff, however, found a tear in his labrum and wear on his elbow.

The Diamondbacks opted not to sign him, a decision aided by an MLB rule that allows a compensation selection for unsigned first-round picks.

Loux eventually was granted free agency and signed a contract with the Texas Rangers. He now is with the club's Class A team, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. In 11 starts he is 4-3 with a 3.90 ERA and 61 strikeouts.

His $312,000 contract, however, is a lot less than the $2 million he was going to get from the Diamondbacks.

The risk goes both ways.

It's hard not to like the ones taken Monday by the Diamondbacks.

UCLA's Trevor Bauer, the third overall pick, is a big-time right-handed pitching prospect who is diligent about his sometimes-unorthodox training methods.

He told the Los Angeles Times that he has soaked baseballs in water because he heard "that Cuban kids threw coconuts to build arm strength."

His methods aren't conventional, but the Bruins adjusted to it and UCLA coach John Savage said the Diamondbacks will, too.

Of course they will. Why would you mess with a process that led to a 13-2 record and 1.25 ERA in 16 starts this season?

"He's a great teammate," Savage said. "He's open to a lot of things, and he knows himself as well as anyone I've been around. He's a great pick for them."

Bauer is driven. He skipped his senior season in high school to enroll early at UCLA and get a jumpstart on his career.

Pitcher Archie Bradley, the seventh overall pick, is more of a risk.

The Oklahoma high school standout with a 12-1 record and 0.29 ERA his senior season has a football and baseball scholarship to Oklahoma waiting.

That the Diamondbacks took him means they believe they can sign him and speaks well of management's willingness to spend.

Kendrick was at the Diamondbacks-Nationals game Sunday when a woman approached him and handed him copies of The Arizona Republic from the team's 2001 World Series run.

"An omen?" Kendrick mused. "I don't want to read too much into it, because I know we still have a lot of work to do.

"But it was kind of neat."

The Diamondbacks do have a lot of work to do.

But at least now it feels as if they're competing on a level playing field again.